Paros had considered giving Vincent and the others gifts before.

But the problem was—men like them lacked for nothing.

Paros:

They’re all powerful. They don’t need any of that.

When Yuel saw the reply, his brows knit slightly.

So many powerful figures... all gathered on Central District?

After a moment’s thought, he responded:

Moonlit Heart:

Whether they need it or not is their concern.

Giving is about your intention.

No one takes offense at courtesy. If you want to build a good relationship with them, you have to show goodwill first.

After sending that, Yuel paused, then added another message:

Moonlit Heart:

Brother, if you don’t mind me asking, what Rank are you?

Just as Paros was about to reply, the door suddenly swung open.

"Paros!"

Nix stepped into the room—and immediately froze when he saw Paros holding his communicator, clearly in the middle of something.

"Oh—sorry!" Nix stopped at the doorway, looking slightly embarrassed. "I didn’t realize you were busy. The door was open, so I just came in."

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Should I step out and knock properly?"

The guilt in his voice was genuine. He really did have something urgent to ask Paros, and in his haste, he’d forgotten basic courtesy.

"No need."

Paros was, in fact, trying to improve his relationship with them. There was no way he would take offense—especially when Nix had come to him on his own.

"I wasn’t doing anything important," he said calmly. "Just chatting with a friend I met on my light-brain."

He added the explanation almost deliberately.

Before coming here, someone had repeatedly warned him—when speaking to Rory’s partners, don’t sound so distant and formal all the time.

So this time, he made the effort.

And to his surprise... it wasn’t as difficult as he’d imagined.

"A friend... from your communicator?" Nix blinked, clearly startled.

He hadn’t expected someone like Paros to casually chat with strangers online.

Then, remembering why he’d come—and also recalling that Paros’ mental state wasn’t exactly... stable right now—Nix hesitated, then spoke up with genuine concern.

"Hey, just be careful, alright? There are all kinds of people out there. Don’t go telling them everything about yourself."

He scratched his cheek.

"If you run into someone with bad intentions, you might get taken advantage of."

Paros inclined his head slightly. "Understood. Thank you."

He meant it.

Then he looked at Nix. "You came to see me—do you need something?"

At that, Nix’s expression turned a little sheepish.

"Well... yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. "Do you... happen to have an eleventh-rank beast core?"

He hesitated, then added quickly, "A worm core would work too. I really need one right now."

Originally, he’d planned to ask Xarion.

But Wen had mentioned that Xarion was with Rory, and Nix didn’t want to interrupt.

As for Vincent and Yuel... He didn’t dare ask them.

After thinking it over, Nix realized there was only one person in the house who could casually produce an eleventh-rank beast core—Paros.

"I do." Without hesitation, Paros reached into his spatial ring and took out two eleventh-rank beast cores, holding them out to Nix.

"If that’s not enough, come back and ask me for more."

"That’s more than enough!" Nix quickly took just one. "One is all I need."

He didn’t dare take more.

"Thanks, Paros. Once I’m done with this, I’ll return it to you."

"No need." Paros didn’t even blink. He took the second core—one Nix had left behind—and pressed it into his hand.

"Just use it. I have plenty."

Nix: "..."

As expected of the ruler of three domains... unbelievably generous.

He looked at Paros as if he’d just spotted a walking treasury.

Grinning, Nix tucked the beast core away, then clapped Paros on the shoulder.

"Paros, with this kind of loyalty, I’m claiming you as my brother from now on."

His tone turned firm, sincere.

"If you ever need anything, just say the word. I’ve got your back."

Paros was confused.

Just... two eleventh-rank beast cores—and Nix already considered him a brother?

That was... surprisingly easy.

So that "Moonlit Heart" really was right.

Giving gifts worked.

"Thank you."

Paros’s mood visibly lifted. Without a second thought, he reached into his spatial ring again—pulling out another eleventh-rank beast core along with several tenth-rank ones—and handed them over.

"Brother, don’t be polite with me. If you need anything, just tell me. I’ll help you too."

Nix stared at the pile of beast cores now in his arms, momentarily dazed.

"Paros... you’re seriously an incredible dragon."

Whoever said Paros was difficult clearly had no idea what they were talking about.

He was easygoing, generous—and ridiculously dependable.

Nix was so touched he almost teared up.

"I’ve got something to take care of, so I’ll head out first," he said, still clutching the cores.

Then, as if remembering something important, he added:

"Just don’t forget what I told you—there are all kinds of scammers on the light-brain net. They’ll pretend to help at first, then casually start asking about you. Once they figure out who you are, they’ll take advantage of you."

He pointed for emphasis.

"So don’t tell them the truth. No matter what."

Paros nodded seriously.

"I understand. I’ll be careful."

Nix’s sincerity didn’t go unnoticed. Paros took his warning to heart.

After seeing him off, Paros immediately picked up his communicator and replied to "Moonlit Heart."

Paros:

I understand now. I know what to do.

Nix’s reaction had confirmed it—giving gifts really worked.

He had been overthinking things before.

Then his gaze shifted to the earlier message—the question about his Rank.

Recalling Nix’s warning, Paros typed his reply without hesitation.

Paros:

I’m Rank ten.

Meanwhile, Yuel read the reply on his communicator and lifted a brow.

A Rank ten who could casually produce that many eleventh-rank beast and worm cores?

Impossible—at least, not anyone from the Central District. No clan there had a Rank ten with that kind of wealth.

So... someone from the Four Great Domains?

But aside from Xarion, who else could afford to be this extravagant?

After a moment’s thought, Yuel sent another message.

Moonlit Heart:

Brother, are you from the Four Great Domains? Which clan?

Paros stared at the new message.

So this guy really was trying to dig into his identity.

He frowned slightly, recalling Nix’s warning.

Without hesitation, he replied:

Paros:

Snowfield. Snowfield Wolf Clan.

If the other party had already guessed he was from the Four Great Domains, then it wouldn’t take much to narrow it down.

Among them, only Xarion—and himself—could casually produce so many eleventh-rank cores.

To avoid exposing his true identity, Paros simply... borrowed Xarion’s.

"Heh."

Yuel looked at the reply and let out a quiet laugh.

Snowfield Wolf Clan?

In that clan, anyone capable of producing that many eleventh-rank cores would either be Xarion—or the Wolf King himself.

The Wolf King rarely interacted with his bonded brothers, so there was no question of "relationship issues."

So... Xarion?

But since when had their relationship with Xarion been bad?

***

The next morning, Xarion stepped out of Rory’s room.

As he came downstairs, he spotted Yuel.

"Xarion." Yuel called out to him first.

"Something up?" Xarion stopped and glanced over.

Yuel nodded. "Got a minute? I want to talk."

Xarion had plenty of time. He gave a slight nod. "What about?"

Just as Yuel was about to respond, the door to another room opened, and Paros walked out.

Seeing both of them, his eyes lit up slightly.

"Perfect—you’re both here."

He stepped forward and, without hesitation, took out the gifts he had prepared the night before.

"Thank you for taking care of me during this time. These are for you."

"Gifts?"

Xarion stared at Paros in disbelief.

What was wrong with this dragon today?

Since when did he start handing out presents unprompted?